I had never really had one like what I've been through .. and now, on the other side, am so pleased I did the full fitting process.

I chose a club fitter who has BOTH the actual ball flight via 'on range' and 'data' via technology like Trackman. I also chose a club fitter with no 'one brand' affiliation, so I could hit as many clubs as possible, and find the 'best fit' for me.

Initially, I went in to check then out, feel the 'vibe' if you will and see if I felt comfortable.

From there, I booked a club fitting, and first step was shafts ... irons and then driver. That was one session, and with it came some lessons to improve my swing.

Week later, I went back to do the iron selection, which also meant wedges were sorted.

Then, a week later, I did the Diver selection, which also meant the Fairway wood was sorted.

So, would I do it again - HELL YES.

Did it cost a lot - nope.

The price of fitting (and lessons) were included into the price of the clubs, and I know my prices (lots of research before buying) and know I paid just under retail prices for quality, fit for me, clubs. The lessons a bonus, and no doubt help with the use of the new gear.

Having had a follow up lesson yesterday ( you can read about that here: http://forums.iseekg...k-to/?p=1564289), knowing that the clubs fit me, are 'right' for me, and having the correct shaft length, lie, flex, etc. has taken away all those niggling and nagging thoughts about equipment and whether it's the 'archer or the arrow'...

For example, with me needing a tweak with posture yesterday ... in the past, I'd be thinking are the clubs right for me, too long, wrong lie angle, but not a single thought to confuse me or create doubt, so I am 100% certain the issue is me, the archer.

Just another benefit of being properly fitted for clubs!

On the cost side of things, I figure the new set up will last me 10 years. Sure, equipment will marginally improve over that time, but not as much as what I can now do by investing in lessons and quality practice. At 45 now, I figure by 55 my strength, flexibility and swing speed might start to decline so would be time to revisit the fitting. So, averaging the cost of the new clubs over 10 years, actually works out less than the cost of a couple of beers a week.

And, with the new putter and putter fitting, well, I think the B will be with me until I stop playing golf. I can not put a price on the confidence and impact it has already had on my feeling toward the game. Yet to be proven 'on course' but so far the little weapon has been very well worth the investment.

Given that we don't play golf on dead flat surfaces and we have to adjust our body geometry for every shot (therefore changing the lie angle on every shot) the idea that there is perfect lie angle for each player is clearly nonsense.

There is also no perfect club length as this has a direct relationship to lie angle. The general vibe from the number (8 or so )club fitter I've spoken to is to "fit" players into the longest clubs they can hit to maximize distance (because apparently hitting a PW 120 is the new norm for 18 handicappers); and they then adjust the lie angles to suit that length of club.

Unfortunately most of them only check a 5i and then adjust all other clubs from that point. In my own clubs this always leaves the longer irons too upright leading to hooks. Every set I've received I toddle of and have the 3 and 4 bent flatter (sometimes the 9 and PW bent more upright).

All that aside the process of "club fitting" in my experience makes 3/5 of ffaaarkall difference; when compared to playing more golf. Smoke and mirrors used to convince choppers they are going to miraculously play better with their latest set of wonder bats.

Given that we don't play golf on dead flat surfaces and we have to adjust our body geometry for every shot (therefore changing the lie angle on every shot) the idea that there is perfect lie angle for each player is clearly nonsense.

There is also no perfect club length as this has a direct relationship to lie angle. The general vibe from the number (8 or so )club fitter I've spoken to is to "fit" players into the longest clubs they can hit to maximize distance (because apparently hitting a PW 120 is the new norm for 18 handicappers); and they then adjust the lie angles to suit that length of club.

Unfortunately most of them only check a 5i and then adjust all other clubs from that point. In my own clubs this always leaves the longer irons too upright leading to hooks. Every set I've received I toddle of and have the 3 and 4 bent flatter (sometimes the 9 and PW bent more upright).

All that aside the process of "club fitting" in my experience makes 3/5 of ffaaarkall difference; when compared to playing more golf. Smoke and mirrors used to convince choppers they are going to miraculously play better with their latest set of wonder bats.

Long irons come standard with different lie angles to short irons, when you get fitted you get 2deg flat or whatever, it is 2 flat from the standard.

Yep Itchy, I understand the graduated increase/decrease in lie throughout a set of irons from what is not really a standard as it changes from one manufacturer to the next. For me it just all becomes pretty academic on the golf course once the ball is 2+ inches above or below my feet and I have to actually control club face/club path from a less than standard body position.

That was pretty much my point; obviously we should have clubs that are within a bulls roar for comfort sake; but actually playing golf and learning to control flight with club face and path always trumped blind faith in an arbitrary set of angles a club fitter decided was my best.

Chuck in some of my own club delivery inconsistency week to week and it gets very interesting

The 'on the course' impacts of undulation, etc. makes sense, but lie angle and club length are only two aspects of the club fitting process.

IMHO, and I'm a Hack AKA one of those "choppers", I feel the impacts of things like shaft flex, club design, etc on the 'outcomes' of spin rates, ball flight, etc. need to be considered too when "assessing" the benefits or otherwise of club fitting.

I think the understanding I got from the op was that removing doubt about clubs which they felt was gained through the fitting purpose allowed them to continue their improvement goals free of the feeling that maybe the clubs they are playing aren't right for them.

I think the understanding I got from the op was that removing doubt about clubs which they felt was gained through the fitting purpose allowed them to continue their improvement goals free of the feeling that maybe the clubs they are playing aren't right for them.

I've only been to the TaylorMade lab twice. found it a great experience. Sliced and pulled the crap outta my driver, went outside and then proceeded to hit it reasonably straight......... I am 3*upright in irons.

So I probably hit a 6 iron 4 or 5 times in a round of golf and the shape of shot, trajectory, distance etc are completely different for each shot.

Each shot requiring its own level of power, shaft lean etc to produce the necessary ball flight. So what strength/spin characteristic shaft should I extract from my quiver of spares?

Oops I selected just the right shaft for my low spin into wind knockdown but because I'm not a robot I hit that one 2 grooves to high on the face and changed the spin rate by 700rpm ….up she went and into the front bunker ..... silly me

This is just an example of how any shaft/club selection pales into insignificants compared to a golfers input. Should have hit the 5 iron .....

So I probably hit a 6 iron 4 or 5 times in a round of golf and the shape of shot, trajectory, distance etc are completely different for each shot.
Each shot requiring its own level of power, shaft lean etc to produce the necessary ball flight. So what strength/spin characteristic shaft should I extract from my quiver of spares?
Oops I selected just the right shaft for my low spin into wind knockdown but because I'm not a robot I hit that one 2 grooves to high on the face and changed the spin rate by 700rpm ….up she went and into the front bunker ..... silly me
This is just an example of how any shaft/club selection pales into insignificants compared to a golfers input. Should have hit the 5 iron .....

As was said before, 2P, if the clubs have been fitted to you by an expert, then you KNOW that hitting the ball 2 grooves too high was entirely your fault. Next step, learn to do it right.

As was said before, 2P, if the clubs have been fitted to you by an expert, then you KNOW that hitting the ball 2 grooves too high was entirely your fault. Next step, learn to do it right.

Of course it is entirely my fault; and I "know" it's my fault regardless of what shaft I was using. Unless I'm built like Magilla Guerilla different rated shaft simply don't bend that much differently to effect strike patterns.

I've loved "sharing my experience of club fitting" and all the nonsense it encompasses.

Playing a few rounds with Senior or even Junior shafts can be helpful; fun times

I recently cracked my driver so thought I'd get fit for the first time. People generally think from my swing I should hit the ball super far. Drivers swings are nearly always in the 100-105 mph range (radar) but seemingly well struck shots with good shape wouldn't go much beyond 220 m. It's baffled me for a long time actually.

I went to a high-tech place with a good reputation, and even rang a pro who knew the place well and could impartially tell me who their best fitter was.

There was definitely no brand pushing, which was nice.

Hitting multiple shafts with my head of first choice didn't really make any shaft stand out. Trying shafts with my second choice head did have one shaft stand out as far as balance and thus repeatability went. Unfortunately that shaft couldn't be quick-fit to my first choice head (but could be ordered with it) so it left me wondering if I should risk the untested combination. I didn't and went with what worked.

Going to the fitter I was just expecting to benefit from modern heads and the shaft loading correctly, but the balance seemed to get my swing in a better place. I could let go more.

At the fitting session Doppler was now telling me I had 270 m drives, so unless the software was juiced between my driver and the new one, I was seeing a 50 m increase. Swing speeds were up about 5 mph (105-110 mph), backspin about half with attack angles now in the positive. Now whether this was partially me adjusting the swing upon seeing the club data, or the club just suited me better, I don't know.

A subsequent range session with the same speed radar unit I used to always see 100-105 mph, I'm now seeing 115-117 mph consistently with the occasional drift up to 120 mph when I try to really try to give it something. The drivers were the same length as well.

I feel however that despite getting a substantially better fit compared to my previous hand-me-down driver, I didn't feel I was optimally fit. And I feel this is because the fitter, like most, came from a pro golfing background rather than a technical background--they'll just be going through a processes learnt at a weekend fitting certifications rather than that life of research and driving forward the field say like Tom Wishon does. I really don't need my fitter to regularly shoot in the 60s or drive 300 m.

If I ask for the software's session file to be emailed to me so I can consult it in future, I don't want to see an initial blank look and receive a near useless best guess in my inbox, as happened. I don't want to hear their claims that they have the most accurate stuff in the business if all they're going on is what the salesman said. I find that questions I would like to know the answers to would leave them stumped and just make for an awkward session. I just remained quiet and listened, whereas I feel I could really get so much more out of the session from a true expert.

So happy with the club and the $900 for fitting and club was worth it, but just have that feeling that I wasn't optimally fit. I did get fit for irons too, but didn't feel confident in the process to purchase a new set that I was planning on.